Octopus Hoodie Tutorial

UPDATED TO ADD: check out the Aug/Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Altered Couture magazine, pages 119-123 where I show step-by-step how I created this, including all the tools & materials needed, complete instructions, as well as some helpful tips.
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As promised here is the tutorial on how I made this Octopus Hoodie.

 My 2nd son's favorite animal is the octopus, his favorite color is yellow, & his favorite piece of clothing is a yellow hoodie, so that's where I started. I took a photo of him wearing a hoodie, printed a couple of copies of that photo using a black & white printer, then took a pen & yellow & blue crayons  and came up with these sketches... the hood is the head of the octopus, there are 8 legs coming down, one on each sleeve, 3 in the front & 3 in the back... the 3 in the front & the 3 in the back form letters with octopus leg font that spell out his name !  I picked blue for the undershirt for the water since an octopus lives in the ocean.

 I grabbed 3 shirts: 2 yellow long sleeved t-shirts (one from the closet & one bought at Target for $6.99) & 1 blue long sleeved polo shirt (bought at a children's consignment shop for $8.50)

 I got a piece of paper big enough to cover the shirt

 by hand drew the design & cut it out to make my pattern

 I tucked the blue polo shirt inside one of the yellow t-shirts & pinned them together

 slid a large book inside to make a flat surface for writing

 pinned the pattern to the front of the shirt

 traced the pattern with a disappearing pen

 checked to make sure it looked OK

 I started sewing in the upper left hand corner & sewed one continuous line, following the line I drew

 checked that it looked OK

 I cut off the excess fabric by cutting close to the sewn line

 Then I repeated the same steps for the back of the shirt

 For the sleeves I continued the line from the front of the shirt

 used this pattern for the octopus legs for the sleeves

 sewed down the sleeve as far as I could with the sewing machine, then sewed the end of the octopus leg by hand

 I took a hood that fits my son well & placed it on the 2nd yellow t-shirt as shown

 traced it leaving 1/2 inch for seam allowances

 cut it out

 turned right sides together & sewed it

 pressed the seam open

 I removed the buttons, tags, & collar from the blue polo shirt

 attached the hood to the shirt

 sewed the hood onto the shirt

 All done !

Total cost for making this? $15.49

Happy sewing !

Another Art Smock

:: I've been catching up on some sewing projects ~ things that have been sitting in my inbox for far too long...

:: here's another art smock from the Oliver + S book

:: in the fall I sew one for school, this one is for home

:: the fabrics are turquoise & white damask from JoAnn's and green/blue Russian nesting doll fabric from Denmark... that Russian nesting doll fabric has been a lot of fun ~ other projects from it have been a purple skirt, a red/pink skirt, & a red/pink tablecloth for my sewing table

:: have a sweet day !

Sewing 2011 Reflections & Predictions

 Sew, Mama, Sew! is asking bloggers to answer these questions about sewing... 2011 reflections & 2012 predictions... here are mine, keeping in mind that I'm more a sewist (of children's garments) than a quilter... here we go... 

1) What did you make that you’re most proud of?

1) 4 Princess Rapunzel dresses (above photo), Girls Charm Pack Skirt from the Stitch by Stitch book (that's where I tried a new to me gathering method ~ zigzag stitching over cording & it is now my preferred gathering method),

 I followed my first sewing pattern in the French language with Suzanne from Citronille,

 Abby Jacket,

 for our living room couch the patchwork pillow from the Sewing Bits & Pieces book,

 & just for fun a Tomte Stuffy from the Scandinavian Stitches book.

2) Looking back at the 2011 sewing scene, what trends stand out in your mind?

2) Ruffles, ombre, chevron, grey & yellow color combo, mustaches, exposed zippers, more sewing for charity when natural disasters happen (quilts for Japan, etc).

3) What were some of your favorite things related to sewing this past year?

3) Project Run & Play (season 1 & season 2), Elsie Marley Kids Clothes weeks (there's one in the spring & one in the fall).

4) What sewn projects have you seen this year that you absolutely love?

4) Skirt as Top, she sewed some lovely little girl ballet skirts... check out her 2011 sewing recap blog post. 

5) Are there any trends you’re over and done with?

5) Chevron, owls, mustaches, screen printing or freezer paper stencils on t-shirts?

6) What are your thoughts about social media? How is it going for you? What do you love or hate?

6) I really enjoy the online sewing community learning & inspiration through tutorials & sew alongs. I blog, I'm on flickr, tumblr (which is where I have visual bookmarks of ideas from the web), & ravelry... I'm not on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, although I do browse Pinterest from time to time.

7) Do you have a favorite sewing book or pattern from the past year to recommend?

7) Oliver + S Little Things to Sew book by Liesl Gibson.

 So far, I've sewn the tutu & 2 art smocks. 

8) Did you have a favorite fabric collection or print in 2011?

8) JoAnn DS quilt collection: Sugar Creek Whimsy Bouquet Meadow & Picnic Dots Red/Pink. I sewed 2 projects using these fabrics: an art smock

 & a purse.

9) What do you predict for 2012 in the sewing industry?

9) I really don't have a clue, but I'm hoping for more DIY, more repurposing (taking old clothing, vintage sheets, etc & turning it into something new).

10) Can you tell us what to expect from you in 2012? Any big projects or life-changing goals?

10) More sewing:
:: for charity.
:: with denim.
:: on paper.
:: from patterns in French.
:: with fabric from my stash & buying less brand new fabric.
:: with repurposing ~ I so enjoy the challenge of taking a used piece of clothing & turning it into something new.
:: for my daughter, she for sure wants a pink princess dress, if she had it her way it would be 'all pink, all the time', but hopefully I can squeeze a few other colors in there. I'm currently taking part in the Project Run & Play sew along & I plan to take part in Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes week again this year.
I would like to dig out my serger & learn how to thread it & use it.
Also, I will continue to submit my creations to sewing books & sewing magazines & we'll see what happens...

Octopus Hoodie

UPDATED TO ADD: the Octopus Hoodie Tutorial is here
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{Project Run & Play Season 3 Sew Along}

This week's challenge is Boys' Week. I've mentioned in the past that my 2nd son's favorite animal is the octopus... so there have been various octopus related projects for him... there was the:
:: knitted stuffed octopus
:: knitted octopus mittens
:: octopus themed 8th birthday party

So the octopus was my inspiration for the boy challenge this week. I came up with an octopus hooded pullover long sleeved shirt.

 I repurposed 3 boy shirts for this project: a long sleeved blue polo shirt & 2 long sleeved yellow t-shirts.

The hood is the head of the octopus & there are 8 octopus legs coming down, one on each sleeve, 3 in the front & 3 in the back. The 3 octopus legs in the front & the 3 octopus legs in the back form letters with octopus leg font that spell out his name !

My son's favorite color being yellow, I chose the octopus to be yellow & the undershirt to be blue for the water since they live in the ocean.

Tutorial on how I made this coming soon :)

Go to the Project Run & Play flickr group to view all the Boys' Week creations.

 His octopus collection... there are 8 ;)

The third week's challenge: Sewing Through the Decades